Supposedly this is one of the 200 or so store closings now that they've filed for CH 11. I'm not a Madison resident... Doesn't this Borders get a lot more traffic/business than the location on Zeier Rd?

I never could understand how the libraries in Madison were closed on Sundays. With that being said, I have really kicked up my library use in the past year or so. I never really took advantage of the HOLDs thingy, but with the newfangled internet, I go nuts. Super easy to go online and request books. My local library doesn't have the biggest selection, but with all of Southern Wisconsin at my fingertips, most books have been a week away.

I didn't realize that was in the bill, too. I'm trying to learn more about this.

From what I've seen so far, the bill would cut library system funding 10%, and -- perhaps more insidiously -- eliminate the requirement for maintenance of effort (MOE). Right now, libraries that join SCLS are prevented from making drastic reductions in their funding after joining SCLS. This ensures that you don't have "free riders" -- smaller libraries joining the system, then abruptly cutting their own budgets and taking advantage of the resources of the rest of the libraries in the system.

If Gov Dumbass gets his way with this, the short-term effect will probably be that a bunch of outlying communities in SCLS start reducing their contributions to the system, but it's kept afloat largely by MPL. If this gets bad enough and MPL decides it's getting the short end of the stick, I can easily see SCLS breaking up. That would be sad for Madison, but it would be much worse for suburban/rural libraries, whose users benefit immensely from their shared access to the holdings of MPL and other SCLS member libraries.

cainabel wrote:Good News is that the Forons and like minders are feeling a wave of Solidarity, so I am sure they will volunteer more taxes to pick up the funding shortfall for programs they care for.

Of course they will... it's only greedy, selfish conservatives who refuse to help anyone but themselves. Liberals will even help fund programs they personally DON'T care for, if they see that others derive benefit from them.

Like it takes a genius to understand that enabling living beyond one's means is not compassion. Government spending is beyond it's means. It is a drag on our economy and means higher taxes and higher interest in the future, continuing the drag on the economy. I would argue that making future generations suffer from a lower standard of living is more selfish than prioritized cuts in current spending. There are plenty of valuable organizations which have their hands out for taxpayer money. Taxpayer's need to begin living within their means and prioritize. Feel free to make any donations to the library you wish! Or do you just want to donate taxpayer money not your own?

To be alarmed at Governor's "giving away" tax cuts, one would have to postulate that taxpayer income belongs to anyone but the taxpayer. High taxes coupled with income redistribution is the definition of selfish and immoral.